Quiche Lorraine à la Heather

Today I made quiche lorraine, a typical French quiche. I added sage to mine, and I think it really makes it better. Even my french husband agrees (which is no small task, getting a french person to agree that you have improved on a standard french dish :-)!

Its pretty simple, and when it's done it should look something like this:

I love quiche. To me, it makes a perfectly healthy meal when you add a side salad. Just right for something filling, but not overly so.

So, here is how I make it:

You will need a thirteen inch pie dish.

Ingredients:

3-4 eggs (depending on how big they are, large eggs= 3, medium eggs=4)
1 cup of heavy cream (or you can substitute sour cream, but only if its NOT fat free or "light")
1 package of lardon (or if you can't find it, use 5 pieces of thick bacon chopped up)
1 onion
3 medium sized fresh mushrooms chopped
1 tsp dried sage or two fresh sage leaves chopped/crumbled
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil (or cooking oil)
1/2 cup of shredded white cheese (I use gruyere or "swiss" cheese, you can use any white cheese easily available to you though)
Salt and pepper
1 pre-made crust for savory dishes (here is a recipe if you can't find this in stores)


What to do:

First, preheat your oven to 350 fahrenheit (180 celsius).

Then use 1 tsp of butter spread thinly on the pie pan to keep the crust from sticking, and lay the crust flat on top of it.

Chop the onion (and bacon if you are using it) into small pieces (about 1/4 of an inch).

Put the oil in your frying pan and bring it to a medium heat. Add the onion, wait two minutes, then add the lardon/bacon. While this is browning, chop the mushrooms into similar sized pieces. When the onion and lardon/bacon is nearly brown, add the mushrooms and sage. Leave it cook over low heat (the lowest you can manage) for another two minutes.

Crack all the eggs into a medium sized bowl, add the cream, nutmeg and a dash of salt and pepper. Whisk everything together, so it becomes a nice, even yellow color.

Pour half of your egg mixture onto the pie crust. Then, add everything from the frying pan and spread it out evenly. Next, pour the rest of the egg mixture on top and sprinkle your cheese to cover the surface.

Pop it in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes, it should be brown on top when done.

Pull it out, let it cool for 15 minutes, then enjoy!

I usually have one piece and the rest the next day, I think its sooo good for breakfast too!